It is possible that no physical damage was done to your computer, but the irregular shut-down scrambled some important system files.
I would first boot to the operating system disk and try to do a "Repair." The fact that it can get to the login screen is an
encouraging sign.
You could also try to boot into safe mode and see if you could do a System Restore. (Usually by hitting F8 repeatedly while the
computer is booting up.)
If it looks like a certain hardware problem, then installing it on another computer might give you a chance to recover the data - if
it is not the disk itself that was damaged, in which case the data might be lost.
He should not only have an APC, he should also have some kind of back-up mechanism to back up his important files. Backing up to
DVD might be a good way to do it. Every file that you would hate to lose should be backed up, especially photographs...
Dean Kukral
----- Original Message -----
From: Joyce A
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 7:13 PM
Subject: [PCSOFT] Retrieving files
First I want to say "thank you" to everyone who has helped me with
nephew Raymond's and sister Margaret's computers. I managed to
eliminate if not all the viruses, at least most of them, and pulled the
fangs on the others. So your help is much appreciated...
Now I need to ask: how do I retrieve Raymond's files from his hard
disk? (eMachines, XP Pro...) They experienced a power spike last week,
and now there's no OS. The computer will boot to the login screen, but
no further. I suspect when I take the hood off, I'll find some
thoroughly slagged components. If that's the case, can I just take the
HD out, patch it in to my laptop with a USB to IDE adapter kit, and get
his files that way? Or do I need some kind of special software for the
operation? I am confident no latent infection will transfer to my HP
Mini laptop, running XP with AVG Free and other malware preventives.
Raymond will probably be buying another computer, and an APC! (I've
only told him about a dozen or 50 times he _needs_ that APC!... <G>)
Hopefully we can find a good used one (running XP) for him.
Joyce in SE Ohio
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